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Junior Seau: The Life and Death of a Football Icon Hardcover – October 27, 2015

by Jim Trotter (Author)

35 customer reviews

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A moving portrait of the life and legendary career of one of the NFL’s most beloved players

Tiaina Baul “Junior” Seau is widely considered one of the best linebackers ever to play the game. A ten-time All-Pro and twelve-time Pro Bowl selection, Seau was picked for the NFL’s “All-Decade Team” in the 1990’s. His incredible career spanned two decades, during which time he played for the Chargers, Dolphins, and Patriots. A charismatic leader and competitor known for playing through injuries and leaving it all on the field, Seau started in almost 250 regular season games and electrified fans with his dynamic play.

In 2012, at the age of forty-three, Seau committed suicide with a gunshot wound to the chest. News of his death sent shockwaves through the NFL. Later, studies concluded that Seau had been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a type of brain damage. His tragic death opened the door to hundreds of inquiries about the trauma from NFL players and their families.

Drawing on exclusive access to Seau’s family and Seau’s never-before-seen diaries and letters, veteran reporter Jim Trotter goes beyond the statistics to paint a moving portrait of a larger-than-life star whose towering achievements in the game came at a great cost.

Junior Seau: The Life and Death of a Football Icon

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Product Details

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (October 27, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0544236173
ISBN-13: 978-0544236172
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #77 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Sports & Outdoors > Football
- #142 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Football (American)

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Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		40%
4 star		37%
3 star		14%
2 star		6%
1 star		3%

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Top Customer Reviews

A Favorite Player of My Husband and a Worthwhile Read

By K. Groh TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on October 23, 2015

Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )

My husband has been a San Diego Chargers fan since forever. It's a little odd because we live on the east coast. But Junior Seau was his favorite player for a long time. He was truly a man to look up to. So he's been reading this book and says that it is a great one and a good story to be told. It is written by Jim Trotter who has been a reporter for ESPN for a long time. He has compiled information from his past interviews with Junior Seau as well as other players who worked alongside him. The story seems to be a good representation of his life, his dedication to the sport and his warrior spirit. He was a generous player with his devotion and time and also a generous family man. Well written and a worthwhile look inside the intensity of football and the long lasting effects it can have on the body and mind of the players. Unfortunately for Junior, the sport took much more from him than it should have.

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Effective, timely, brief and brilliantly written

By Trudie Barreras VINE VOICE on September 16, 2015

Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )

From the perspective of a non-sports-fan who loves biographies, Jim Trotter’s deeply sensitive and honest story of the life and death of Junior Seau is an intensely moving one. I am not a total football ignoramus – I can watch a game (or part of one) without being completely mystified by what is happening. However, although I can probably name a few of the more well-known quarterbacks of recent times, and perhaps even get their teams right, I freely admit that I had no idea who Junior Seau was, and had to ask my husband how to pronounce his surname.

For those who ARE enamored of the game of football, and who do indeed follow the careers of outstanding players, I’m sure Trotter’s descriptions of the various game details and the internal politics of the sport itself will be of great interest. For me, they provide a coherent, even if excessively detailed, backdrop for the main story, which as I’ve already mentioned, was told with great sensitivity.

There is also, of course, a vitally important sub-theme of Trotter’s narrative, which has received a great deal of recent publicity. The mystique of football, as a “manly sport” where physical aggressiveness and violence are exalted and hard hitting is expected, leads inevitably to severe physical injury, especially repeated (and often untreated) concussions resulting in CTE – chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This in turn has resulted all too frequently in either early onset Alzheimer’s or other forms of neurological deficit, or to self-medication with drugs or alcohol to offset the pain – or any combination thereof.Read more ›

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Wow.

By LookinG for Trouble VINE VOICE on February 11, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Junior was a great man and the world is less without him. He is a player who transcended the game he played, a man who transcended his life.

Every mother and grandmother of a football player who has played with a concussion or a sprained ankle,and heaven only knows what else, knows that football is about more and less than life. Junior tells us, again and again.

His daughter has a speech that he asked her to give if he was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame, as he could no longer speak for himself. She speaks without bitterness. She speaks beautifully. I saw it on the NYT website.

We cannot ignore these issues any more. We must protect our Juniors of the future.

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By Princess VINE VOICE on October 13, 2015

Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )

Seau was a brilliant young athlete, gifted, motivated and devoted to his family and culture. I remember him well from his time with the New England Patriots where he was well regarded and very much a fan favorite.
In this short narrative about Seau's life (200+ pages) he seems to have spent much of his life trying to please people and live up to the expectations of his Samoan culture. The book really skims the surface of the popular NFL star's life, lacking depth of detail but covering everything.
The end of this life is a moving and distressing section which the author really leaves us with more unanswered questions. Should the book have been longer?
Trotter does he's best detailed writing when covering Seau's football career but that's really not enough to carry the book. Altogether it's not a bad read and does offer some insight it the subject life.

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Junior Seau

By SMXSteve VINE VOICE on October 5, 2015

Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )

That's what the book is about Junior Seau. Other then how Junior's life was affected by or what role he played you won't learn a great deal more about the NFL, other players, San Diego or much about history then you may already know. But if you want a good inside look at the life of one of the greatest NFL players, a San Diego icon, this book may be for you.

You may expect to get answers and the truth about major injuries like concussions but you'll end up with more questions and more possibilities or reasons for how he ended his life. On the outside Junior's life had the appearance of a kind, hard working, intelligent and happy person most of the time. But inside was always a struggle trying to please everyone.

Life is complex especially when we aspire to be great. Trotter doesn't leave us with any help or ways to pick ourselves up when that greatness ends - we really don't learn anything. You can't help but wonder if Junior, or anyone in his situation, could have had a different way.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Never Forget

Junior Seau was my favorite football player of all time . Even though I am from Boston I followed Junior's whole career. Read more

Published 24 days ago by bosox27

Four Stars

Truthful story of a man torn between family, culture,fame and inner demons.

Published 27 days ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Great book.

Published 1 month ago by Shaun McCourt

Nice guy, made the time to talk NFL stuff ...

Thought provoking. This book contains a lot of wisdom for husbands and fathers. I got the chance to meet Mr. Trotter at an airport in DC. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

Three Stars

Fair

Published 1 month ago by Suzanne Fitts

Thank you Jim Trotter for this well written book.

If you are a Chargers fan, this is a must read. So many of us had no understanding of why Junior would or could have killed himself. Jim Trotter explains so much in his book. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Jim R

Missing Pages!

I purchased this as a Christmas gift for my son, a life-long Charger and Seau fan. He began reading and was enjoying it - right to page 18 when suddenly the next page was 51 -... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Lynne Harvey

Plain and Boring

As a life-long Chargers and Seau fan, I hated it. Instead of recounting the great memories of Junior, first-time book writer Trotter painted a negative and depressing story of his... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Cassady

The perfect gift for the educated sports fanatic in your family!

As a passionate San Diego sports fan I could not wait to read about how the real life of Junior would be portrayed in Jim Trotter's book. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer

Thoughtful, sad and joyous, all at once....

I am a lucky San Diegan who got to see this man play a position in football that was magical. The way the Charger front office treated him near the end of his career was... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Shirley Bubel

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